The Constitutional Court declared the Shor Party unconstitutional after considering the track record and severity of the violations it has committed, as found in a number of irrevocable court decisions and other authoritative documents. The Court has come to the conclusion that the Shor Party “is advocating against the principles of the rule of law, sovereignty and independence of the Republic of Moldova”. This was stated by Constitutional Judge Domnica Manole in a press briefing.
Domnica Manole noted that the Government, which acted as the plaintiff, cited in its complaint the criminal acts committed by the leader of the Shor Party as well as by MPs and other members representing the party. The Government also highlighted the repeated, continuous and considerable party financing violations, as found by national authorities and courts, but which haven’t made the party mend its ways. “Thirdly, the Government cited the actions and statements of the Shor Party that suggested the use of violence for overthrowing or forcefully changing the constitutional order of the Republic of Moldova”, said Domnica Manole.
The Court found that in a number of elections in which Shor Party candidates participated, the principle of transparent financing was violated. This included failure to properly report or underreporting campaign expenses and donations, going over the allowed spending limit, and ignoring sanctions imposed by the electoral authority.
“The court found that after Ilan Shor left Moldova in 2019 and was put on national and international wanted lists in connection with his 2017 conviction for causing material damage by deception or abuse of trust in particularly large proportions large amounts and money laundering in particularly large proportions, the Shor Party began to receive funds in a non-transparent way in significant amounts”, said Domnica Manole.
The Court also took into consideration the economic sanctions imposed on the Shor Party and its leaders by the United States, the Council of the European Union, Norway, Canada, etc. Also, reference was made to a decision of the Commission for Extraordinary Situations and to a document of the Intelligence and Security Service, which claim that the party receives funding from a foreign state.
“Regarding the alleged imminent threat to the values protected by the Constitution, the Court noted that the Party’s objective to overthrow the democratic order can be deduced from instances of non-transparent financing, from the organized and paid protests and from the claims made by the party’s representatives and Ilan Shor himself during these meetings”, said Domnica Manole.
The Shor Party was declared unconstitutional on Monday, leading to its immediate dissolution. Judge Serghei Țurcan formulated a dissenting opinion, and Judge Vladimir Țurcan a separate opinion. The Shor Party reacted by calling the Constitutional Court’s decision “abuzivă and criminal”.
